The Floodgates Open for 3G Video Broadcasting on iPhone

More streaming video apps, capable of broadcasting live over 3G networks, are coming to Apple’s App Store, even as AT&T continues to blame iPhone users of hogging network bandwidth. It seems as though AT&T wants to let you have your cake—and charge you full price for it—as long as you don’t eat it all.

From Ars Technica:

Today, Ustream Live Broadcaster is now available from the App Store, and it enables live video broadcasting from an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 3G over either WiFi or 3G cell network to unlimited desktop and mobile clients. While the app’s approval seems to signal a policy change with respect to transmitting video over AT&T’s 3G network, it also seems at odds with AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega’s recent comments that a small percentage of heavy data users can ruin service for others on the network.

Ustream has worked for some time to get mobile streaming solution on the iPhone. The company’s first attempt was merely a viewing app that could connect to Ustream’s servers to view any active stream. The release of the iPhone 3GS, with its updated video-capable camera module, along with iPhone OS 3.0, which included an API for recording video from the iPhone 3GS’s camera, enabled Ustream to build Ustream Live Recorder for iPhone 3GS. This application could record video for later uploading to Ustream’s servers, but live streaming was still a pipe dream.

The recent approval of Knocking Live Video, however, demonstrated that live streaming from an iPhone is possible and permissible by Apple. According to one developer, Apple has internally made an exception to the restriction against using private APIs for the _UIGetScreenImage method, which is the only known technique to grab a live stream from the iPhone’s camera hardware. (Neither Apple nor Ustream would confirm this to Ars, but the approval of the app speaks for itself.) The upside is that this technique can be used with the iPhone 3G and the original iPhone, as well.

Ustream Live Broadcaster finally makes good on the promise of live mobile streaming from the iPhone. Unlike Knocking Live Video’s iPhone-to-iPhone approach, though, video is instead directed to Ustream’s servers and then rebroadcast to desktop or mobile clients. It also includes the capabilities of the company’s previous applications, so it can be used to record video for later upload or using to view Ustream streams. Ustream spokesperson Shari Foldes told Ars that Ustream Live Broadcaster “works on 3GS, 3G and even on the 2G model” iPhones, but live streaming is limited to 3G or WiFi networks.

Today, Ustream Live Broadcaster is now available from the App Store, and it enables live video broadcasting from an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 3G over either WiFi or 3G cell network to unlimited desktop and mobile clients. While the app’s approval seems to signal a policy change with respect to transmitting video over AT&T’s 3G network, it also seems at odds with AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega’s recent comments that a small percentage of heavy data users can ruin service for others on the network.

Ustream has worked for some time to get mobile streaming solution on the iPhone. The company’s first attempt was merely a viewing app that could connect to Ustream’s servers to view any active stream. The release of the iPhone 3GS, with its updated video-capable camera module, along with iPhone OS 3.0, which included an API for recording video from the iPhone 3GS’s camera, enabled Ustream to build Ustream Live Recorder for iPhone 3GS. This application could record video for later uploading to Ustream’s servers, but live streaming was still a pipe dream.

The recent approval of Knocking Live Video, however, demonstrated that live streaming from an iPhone is possible and permissible by Apple. According to one developer, Apple has internally made an exception to the restriction against using private APIs for the _UIGetScreenImage method, which is the only known technique to grab a live stream from the iPhone’s camera hardware. (Neither Apple nor Ustream would confirm this to Ars, but the approval of the app speaks for itself.) The upside is that this technique can be used with the iPhone 3G and the original iPhone, as well.

Ustream Live Broadcaster finally makes good on the promise of live mobile streaming from the iPhone. Unlike Knocking Live Video’s iPhone-to-iPhone approach, though, video is instead directed to Ustream’s servers and then rebroadcast to desktop or mobile clients. It also includes the capabilities of the company’s previous applications, so it can be used to record video for later upload or using to view Ustream streams. Ustream spokesperson Shari Foldes told Ars that Ustream Live Broadcaster “works on 3GS, 3G and even on the 2G model” iPhones, but live streaming is limited to 3G or WiFi networks.